William McAllister
William McAllister (born 1940s) is a high ranking member of the Irish West End Gang who has become one of Montreal's most infamous underworld figures. Biography In his early years, McAllister first came to notoriety as an armed robber. In 1966, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a bank robbery in Boston. Shortly after his release from prison, on September 12, 1973, a Brink's armored truck arrived at the back of the Bank of Montreal in St. Laurent to perform a cash transfer. Suddenly, a red van appeared and at high speed, slammed into the front of the armored truck. Two hooded men emerged from the van and opened fire on the guards. One was shot in the face and died at the scene, while another was shot twice in one leg. The robbers then packed about ten money bags into a stolen car that had been positioned in the parking lot earlier that day. As the masked men finished loading the sacks into the car, driven by an accomplice, a third guard emerged from the bank. The trio jumped into their car and sped off, as the guard opened fire, making off with $250,000 in cash, silver and cheques. About ten minutes later, detectives spotted a severely-damaged car in the parking lot of Sacre-Coeur Hospital. They arrested William McAllister, who was standing near the vehicle. Inside the car, police found a firearm. Police later found three hoods and several money bags in a garbage can on Decarie Boulevard. In December 1974, McAllister was sentenced to life imprisonment for attempted murder and armed robbery. The judge was quoted as saying that “greed was the only motive and McAllister was guilty beyond the shadow of a doubt.” No one else has been arrested in connection Brink's armored car robbery. McAllister was paroled in the early 1980s. McAllister was again arrested in November, 1986. He and seven others allegedly conspired to smuggle 100 kilos of cocaine into Canada from South America. Police seized $500,000 dollars, a kilo of cocaine and a whole arsenal of firearms, including a sub-machine gun, high-powered rifles and two grenades. McAllister was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was paroled in 1992. Drug bust and Incarceration In March, 1993, McAllister was arrested at his Mont Tremblant chalet on charges against him in Florida for conspiracy to import as much as 10,000 kilos of cocaine into Canada. Associates Paul Larue and Ashley Castaneda were also arrested, as well as Rock Machine leader Salvatore Cazzetta and his right-hand man Nelson Fernandes. The bust was a result of a nine-month undercover operation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, the RCMP, and Montreal Urban Community Police. DEA agent John Burns, posed as a major cocaine supplier, was introduced to Paul Larue, who was looking for a steady supply of drugs. The two met in Montreal and discussed drug shipments. Burns agreed to send 4 to 5,000 kilos of cocaine to Montreal. Larue supposedly told Burns that his partner was William McAllister. McAllister and Larue then met Burns at Dorval airport to discuss the shipment. McAllister allegedly proposed that the first 1,000 kilograms of cocaine be smuggled into Montreal through a trucker who regularly did business shipping stock between the U.S. and Canada. McAllister added that motorcycle gangs, including the Hell's Angels, would distribute the drug, according to the undercover agent. A courier was sent down to Florida to pay Burns $200,000 as partial payment. A few months later, an additional $500,000 was delivered to the undercover agent. Associate Ashley Castaneda was reportedly sent to Florida to test the quality of the cocaine. While at the Parthenais detention center awaiting extradition to the U.S., McAllister granted a telephone interview to the Montreal Gazette, in which he criticized the paper for writing that McAllister believed that reputed West End Gang boss Allan "The Weasel" Ross, had set him up in exchange for leniency in his own legal troubles. McAllister set the record straight. "That's a total crock and a total falsehood and you shouldn’t write things like that,” he was quoted as saying. “I know that Allan Ross would never, ever do such a thing." He also reportedly warned journalists to be careful about what they write: “When you write articles like that, I’m serious when I tell you, it’s for your good that I tell you this – there could be reprisals for yourself.” He then clarified that he was not threatening the journalists. “I’m sure I’m not in a hell of a position to threaten you,” he reportedly responded with a laugh. McAllister was ordered extradited to the U.S. in June, 1993. He was escorted to Jacksonville, Florida the following year. In April, 1995, more than two years after his arrest, McAllister was convicted of conspiracy to export cocaine from the U.S. to Canada. He was sentenced to 19 years and 7 months in prison. He is currently incarcerated in Quebec after being transferred to Canada in 2002. Category:West End Gang Category:Canadian Mobsters Category:Irish Gangsters